I can't believe we covered so much distance in one month. From Lake Havasu City in Arizona we headed north to St. George in Utah. The weather was too cold for us so we spent some time in the San Diego area before heading north again, all the way to the Lava Beds National Monument. We just dipped into Oregon for a night and then continued south again before driving the length of California along the coast road. The newsletter ends with us staying in the Mojave Desert just north of LA.

April 2004

Us lucky things have been exploring California for the last few weeks. We decided to stay here after a brief trip north to Utah had to be abandoned due to the weather. We had hoped to see the canyons there but they were having a lot of late snow (i.e. 37 inches over one weekend). We therefore decided it would be unsafe to take the van up into the mountains and visited a quaint Mormon town called St. George. We nosily went to the Mormon temple but weren’t allowed in. Intrigued and wanting to learn more we went to the visitor centre where we got stuck for 2 hours!! We learnt everything we wanted in the first half an hour but it could have been that they were hoping for a couple of new recruits. A very sweet missionary from Texas took us into a dimly lit room with a domed ceiling with the planetary system painted on. We were treated to a short ‘son et lumiere’ complete with a booming voice encouraging us to marvel in God’s Universe. Our guide asked us how we felt after the experience, Mike replied with a completely straight face ‘I’ve always been interested in the solar system’ I made a dodgy excuse about us having to make phone calls to the UK, time differences, blah, blah. We politely took our leave, they were all so nice.

California is huge and we have covered thousands of miles whilst exploring. Mike got chatting to an Italian one day at a fuel station. He was intrigued to see we were in a Fiat. In his day that stood for ‘Fix It Again Tony’. Thank goodness times have changed!

We have spent some time in a place called Portrero near the Mexican border. A border patrol officer made a caustic remark about it being full of drug pushers and illegal immigrants but we remained immune to this observation. We found many points in Portrero’s favour especially as it was quiet and off the beaten track. We got unlimited free internet access at the library, so much so that Mike even had time to learn how to use the internet. They also let us borrow videos and DVDs for 50 cents a week each. The County Park we stayed in was like an English meadow with oak trees. There was a type of woodpecker there that made holes in the bark, with its beak, not to live in but to store acorns. It was hard to imagine how they didn’t get headaches with the constant tapping. One evening we popped over to Mexico for a meal, Mike got a haircut for £2.50 and I had a couple of the world’s strongest Margaritas. On our return U.S. immigration asked us the purpose of our visit to Mexico. Miss Margarita replied, ‘because we can’ I got the derisory look I deserved. However our park ranger told us of a time he went across in a red pick up truck. The immigration officer pulled him over to ask questions and commented on the red truck. The park ranger sensibly asked why it was important that he drove a red truck, he was told that all red trucks were being stopped because…… they were red trucks!! While we’re on the subject of immigration Mike was taking a jog one morning when one of the border patrol helicopters swooped in low to have a closer look. Imagine their disappointment when it was just a sweaty gringo having a jog and not an illegal to round up and send back across the border.

We have driven virtually the whole length of the coastline from the Oregon border right down to San Diego. We had the best table in the house at a restaurant overlooking Monterey Bay; we had a perfect view of the whole bay and were able to watch the full moon rise as we enjoyed our meal. Further south we visited Dana point with its marina and an excellent Mexican Restaurant that had been one of President Nixon’s favourites.

We took the train to San Diego and whilst there we took a hop on hop off trolley tour and were very impressed as it was so well laid out and clean. Down at the marina was a museum of maritime history. The sailing ship from Master and Commander was moored there. It looked absolutely tiny compared to how it was on the big screen.

We have also travelled right up to the very north east to the Lava Beds National Monument. This is a volcanic landscape with caves made by lava floes. We also learnt of the harrowing history of the demise of the Indian population. We went down a couple of the lava tubes and were fairly impressed by lavacicles (like icicles made out of lava) and the mineral deposits on the roofs. The torches we were supplied with didn’t do much to illuminate the gloom so we didn’t stay long, preferring to be above ground. From here our road took us north into Oregon. We went to fill up with fuel, noticing that all the service stations were attended. Our pump attendant told us that it is illegal for a customer to pump fuel in Oregon.

We then crossed over to the Northern California coast where we stayed on a meadow surrounded by a redwood forest. Our neighbours on the site were a group of 6 Roosevelt Elk. Although still wild they would come and feed on the grass right next to the van. Just down the coast we visited a place called fern canyon. This was a 70 foot deep canyon its sides just covered with ferns. It was well worth the visit even though we had to drive along an 8 mile dirt track and drive through three streams to get there. We then continued south along Highway 1 and the ‘lost coast’. Aptly named and hopefully will remain so. The coastline was very rugged and beautiful with steep slopes descending straight down to the sea. Parts of it were like Cornwall and Scotland although more dramatic. We stopped in a place called Petrolia named as it was the first place where oil was shipped out of California in the late 1800s. The inhabitants were mainly the original descendants living on beautiful and enormous ranches. It was the most isolated spot I have ever stayed as the campground was on the beach about 6 miles from the village and we were the only people staying.

Just north of San Francisco on Highway One is the quaint village of Bodega Bay, famous as it was where The Birds was filmed. It seemed to have hardly changed at all except the petrol station is now operated as a Shell franchise and we couldn’t find the house across the bay. We’re sure the seagulls had a rather sinister look about them as well.

We ended up driving the whole of Highway One south all the way to San Simeon. The 90 mile stretch of road from Monterey to San Simeon is also known as The Big Sur. This has been described as one of the most scenic drives on the planet. We were certainly impressed as we had good views of the coastline. During the summer the coast can be shrouded in mist; locally known as ‘Grey May and June Gloom’. As we approached San Simeon we saw a beach with loads of driftwood. However as we drew closer we realised it wasn’t driftwood at all but hundreds of elephant seals lying on the beach. On further investigation we found out that these were the mothers and their babies as the adult males had set off for Alaska, their summer fishing ground. We learnt a great deal from the information boards and guides including the astonishing fact that their fishing trips take them up to 5000 feet below sea level.

We are currently staying on a state park called Saddleback Butte (Bewt) in the Mojave desert about 100 miles inland from Los Angeles. This is our second visit here as we are now waiting for Amy and her friend to fly out to LA for an Easter Holiday. We have climbed the butte which was very strenuous in the heat but there were excellent panoramic views from the top. We also visited the nearby Antelope Valley Indian museum. This was a house that had been built by an enthusiast in the 1920s. It was made out of naturally occurring materials found in the desert and had been built back into the rocky hill behind. His poor wife lived there on her own during the week and she had chiselled out a staircase into the rock on her lonely weekdays. They then turned the house into a museum of Indian history. His display boards have now in themselves become museum pieces.

We have also taken the opportunity to visit California’s wine growing region and the Russian river Valley. Especially beautiful at this time of year as it is all so green and lush with loads of blossom on the trees. Whilst we were there I happened to mention to someone how impressed we were by a particularly good Merlot called Charles Shaw. It was made even tastier by the price tag of a dollar 99 cents. Had she by any chance heard of it? ‘Oh sure, we call it 2 buck Chuck. He’s not very popular with other wine producers’.

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